Workers and Students Presented Findings in Tuesday Zoom Conference

Oakland:  In research presented in a webinar this morning and streamed live on Facebook, a coalition of University of California Unions representing nearly 100,000 UC employees has found that UC has dramatically increased its cash reserves since the 2008 recession, and currently has billions of dollars in unrestricted short and intermediate term reserves that the Regents could leverage to help the state’s third largest employer lead California’s economic recovery.

Click Here for a PDF of the Presentation

“As the third largest employer in the world’s fifth largest economy, and a lifeline of opportunity for the vulnerable populations that have been most adversely impacted by COVID-19 already, what happens at UC over the next few months will have far reaching consequences,” said AFSCME 3299 Research Director Claudia Preparata.  “While the University of California’s finances are notoriously opaque, our research finds that UC is remarkably well-positioned to not only withstand the near term fiscal disruption associated with COVID-19 and lead California’s recovery, but to avoid austerity measures that would devastate low-income students and tens of thousands of essential frontline workers.”

The coalition of UC employee unions presenting the research included AFSCME Local 3299, the Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA), UC-AFT, Teamsters Local 2010, UAW Local 5810, UAW Local 2865, SEIU Committee of Interns and Residents, UPTE-CWA Local 9119, and the California Nurses Association.

“Over the last few months, tens of thousands of frontline UC workers have chosen to willingly put themselves in harm’s way to protect students and colleagues, and care for patients during this horrific pandemic.  Our members will continue choosing to meet this moment, just as we will advocate for additional state and federal support for COVID-19 related impacts, and the long-term reinvestment in higher education that is needed to bring opportunity to more Californians.   This analysis of UC’s financial reserves makes clear that the University has the capability to make an equally important choice–to preserve middle class jobs, protect academic access and quality, and to lead California’s recovery.”

Across its ten campuses, five Medical Centers, and numerous research laboratories and other facilities, the University of California employs 227,000 workers and serves 285,000 students each year.  At least two UC staffmembers are known to have died from COVID-19.